Merdad-Tuned Cayenne Checks Into London Elizabeth Hotel, Doesn’t Check Out

At about 5:00 AM on January 2nd, the driver of this Merdad equipped Cayenne crashed into the side of the London Elizabeth Hotel in Bayswater. The driver of the car fled from the scene, leaving the Porsche balanced precariously on a ledge overlooking the hotel's basement. Some railing was damaged, but from the looks of things, it was the Cayenne that took the brunt of the damage.

No suspects have been announced, and no arrests have been made as of yet. It is unclear as to the circumstances of the accident, but the crash damage appears quite extensive. The driver had fled the scene by the time emergency services had arrived.

Making the Porsche all the more easy to identify (hopefully assisting in the hit-and-runner being tracked down) was a full aero-kit from Merdad. The well known Cayenne performance house, known for building 3-door versions of the Porsche SUV, had equipped this car, at a minimum, with their full set of aerodynamic and visual enhancements, including valances, bumpers, wheel arches, side skirts, and a carbon fiber bonnet.

The extensive aero-kit, with installation, runs to the tune of almost thirty-thousand British pounds ($49,180 at current exchange rates), and it is clear that not much of Merdad's work is salvageable from this car. It is difficult to tell from the photographs provided, but the car appears to also have received a Merdad performance exhaust, among other modifications.

The roads were obviously quite wet, a common occurrence in rainy "jolly old". Combining this with the proximity to New Year's celebrations, and a quite powerful Porsche, perhaps the driver found himself/herself out of their depth, running out of talent, grip, and real estate all at the same time.